Roll With It: Peruvian Chicken at Rico Rico Chicken

Roll With It is a Frolic series about food trucks we’ve seen out and about. We’re tracking them down and trying dishes to bring you the 4-1-1.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

After driving by the Rico Rico Chicken trailer dozens of times on King Street, we decide that we need to stop by. I like chicken, first, and the location cannot be any more convenient for me and other UH students, since it’s just a few blocks from the Mānoa campus.

The Menu

Photo: Maddy Chow

At a glance:

Rico Rico Chicken parks at South King and Coolidge streets across from Longs Drugs. It has only one item on the menu—Peruvian rotisserie chicken—and three ways to get it: a full, half or quarter chicken. All are served with a side of rice that is both salty and sweet from the corn that’s mixed in. On the side is a mustard-like dipping sauce.

We recommend:

While two orders of half a chicken ($15 each) are almost the same price as a full chicken ($28), we get two halves so that we can each have our own rice and dipping sauce. It’s the perfect size if you are going on an empty stomach—this plate will leave you stuffed.

The chicken is coated in a savory blend of herbs and spices and slow-roasted over charcoal for over two hours, giving it a delightful char and fall-off-the-bone tenderness. It’s juicy and so good I still smile when I think about it. It’s the perfect comfort food that I never knew I was missing.

Photo: Maddy Chow

Owner Carlos Jimenez makes 18 to 30 chickens a day and always sells out. We hear it’s best to come as soon as the truck opens because that is when the meat has just come out of the oven and is juiciest. Jimenez tells us he only buys fresh chicken with no hormones, antibiotics or steroids.

It’s been five days and I still cannot stop thinking about this chicken. Maybe I’ll see you there in line.

How it rolls

• Where: Usually parks at South King and Coolidge streets across from Long Drugs; check Instagram for location
• When: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. or until sold out
• Payment: Cash or credit card
• Follow: @ricoricochicken

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